Mechanical spinning toy



Oct. 23, 1934. J. H. WARNER MECHANICAL SPINNING TOY Filed June 18, 1951 %.A wh EM Patented Oct. 23, 1934 t UNITED STATES MECHANICAL SPINNING'TOY John H. Warner, Grafton, Pa. Application June 18, 1931, Serial No. 545,155

6 Claims. (01. 273-410) The present invention is for a combined toy and game in which the action is set upby means of a spinner.

According to this invention there is provided a stationary base member in the form of a pan and supported on this base member and in spaced relation thereto is a member which can be spun with the fingers, this member also being in the form of a pan. The second mentioned pan is pro- .vided with one or more holes so that balls or other loose objects positioned within the pan may escape from the spinning pan into the lower pan. Bafiies are provided for causing the balls to travel around in the spinning pan and create the action which 'iis desirable and enable the balls to occasionally escape through the hole in the spinning pan.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan viewof a toy made in accordl ZO'Iance with my invention, part of the spinning p-an A being broken away; and Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section in substantially the plane of line II-II of Figure 1.

In the drawing; 2 designates a base member in "the form of a sheet metal pan having an annular upstanding flange 3 around the periphery thereof. The bottom of the pan 2 is preferably sloped to a very slight extent and formed in the bottom of the pan are radial ribs or ridges 4.

30.; At the center of the pan is secured a vertical pin 5. Resting on the top of the pin 5 is a hub 1 member 6 having a knob 7 thereon and to which is secured a second pan 8, this second pan having a peripheral flange or rim 9. The. hub 6 is of course at the center of the pan 8 so that it is evenly balanced and concentrically positioned with respect to the pan 2. By twirling the knob 7 the pan 8 may be set into rotation and will spin for a considerable time by momentum. Eccentrically positioned in the pan 8 is a hole 10.

Additional holes may be provided if desirable.

Secured to the base member or pan 2 are upstanding posts 11, preferably formed of sheet metal. These posts carry arms 12 which overhang the pan 8, clearing the flange 9. These overhanging arm portions 12 have downwardly extending baflies or deflector portions 13 thereon, these deflectors being set at an angle to an intersecting radius of the pan.

Positioned within the pan 8 are a plurality of balls or other freely moving objects 14 of such size that they can fall through the hole 10. In addition there may be provided a larger ball 15 which will not fall through this hole. In playing the game, the desired munber of balls 14 are placed in the pan 8 and the pan is, then made to spin by twirling the knob '1. The spinning of the pan tends to throw the balls 14 and 15 out against the flange 9 of the pan 8.v The deflector plates 13 beingpositioned close to the, flange 9, when the balls hit these plates they are deflected in various directions over the surface of the spinning pan. Occasionally one of the balls will fall through the hole 10, escaping from the upper pan and falling into the lower pan.

The darting of the balls over the surface of the spinning pan provides an attractive action for the toy while the escape of the balls through the hole 10 develops a feeling of suspense and introduces an element of chance, making the toy attractive also as a game. The game may be played by seeing who can keep the greatest number of balls in the spinning pan or who can cause the most balls to escape. Occasionally the large ball 15 will lodge over the hole 10 and centrifugal force may not be sufiicient to disturb it, and thus all of the balls 14 remaining in the pan will be trapped.

The sectors between the radial ribs 4 provide in effect pockets, and balls escaping from the pan 10 must fall into these pockets. Due to the fact that the pan 2 slopes downwardly from the center toward the outer edge, the balls roll to the outer edge of the lower pan. The different sectors between the ribs may have a scoring indicia therein, as indicated at 16, whereby balls that fall into one sector may count more than balls falling into the other sectors. This introduces a further element of suspense and chance.

The lower pan 2 is larger than the upper pan, so that there is plenty of space to enable a player to recover the balls from the lower pan.

The overhanging arms 12 with their deflectors 13 not only serve to deflect the balls in various directions over the surface of the upper pan, but also provide a holding means that keeps the upper pan from becoming detached and removed from the lower pan.

While I have shown a preferred construction, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein and that various indicia may be added or provided to change the nature of the game, or the manner of scoring. Moreover, the game pieces 14 and 15 may be variously modified. The pans may also be suitably decorated with various designs appropriate for the type of game which is being played or appropriate for the name of the game.

I claim:

1. A toy of the class described, comprising a PATENT OFFICE base member, a pan supported for spinning above the base member and in spaced relation thereto, a spindle on which the pan is supported and which keeps the pan horizontal, said pan having holes therein, loose game pieces in the pan capable of passing through the holes, and another game piece in the pan of larger cross-sectional dimension than said first game pieces which will not pass through the holes.

2. A toy of the class described, comprising a base member in the form of a flanged pan, a spinner member in the form of a. flanged pan supported for spinning in a fixed horizontal position above the base member and in spaced relation thereto, said spinner member having an eccentrically positioned hole therethrough, a plurality of movable game pieces .in the spinner pan,

and means operatively positioned in the spinner member for deflecting said movable game pieces away from the outer edge of the spinner memher.

3. A mechanical toy comprising a bottom pan, a pin on the bottom pan, a hub member on the pin supporting an upper pan, said upper pan having an eccentrically positioned hole therethrough, and deflectors operatively positioned in the upper pan for deflecting game pieces positioned in the upper pan.

4. A toy of the class described, comprising a flanged base member, a pan supported above the base member and mounted to spin above the base member, said pan being spaced above the base member and having a hole therethrough opening into the base member, and deflectors operatively arranged in the pan for engaging game pieces which are placed therein.

5. A toy comprising, in combination, a pan arranged to rotate, a stationary pan on which the first is supported, a plurality of movable game pieces adapted to be positioned in the first pan, and a stationary deflector projecting into the first pan for engaging said movable game pieces, said first pan having a hole therein through which said game pieces may escape into the second pan.

'6. A toy comprising, in combination, a pan arranged to rotate, a stationary pan on which the first is supported, a plurality of movable game pieces adapted to be positioned in the first pan,

and a stationary deflector projecting into the 

